History of the flag

A flag with pompeblêdden (lily leaves) was already mentioned
in the "Gudrunlied" from the 11th century. This was also used by the Ommelanden.
Since the middle of the 19th century the flag is used by the Fryske
Biweging, and was accepted by the Deputed States (Provincial Legislature)
in 1897. During the festivities of the 40th and 50th reigning jubilee of
Queen Wilhelmina in 1938 and 1948 it was used by each municipality with
the municipal arms in the canton.
Finally it was officially adopted 9 July 1957 by the States of Friesland,
nr. 12 Prov./besluit 20.
The provincial paper, 1958, nr. 12, gives detailed construction sheets.
Mark Sensen, 19 April 1998

When I was researching Friesland for one of my Up The Pole columns
I was told that the 1984 Guinness Book of Records credits the Frisian flag
as dating from the 9th century. Apparently no reason is given as to why
I was also told that the Frisian flag was designed by Dutch heraldist
Heerke Wenning just before 1897 - is this true?
David Cohen, 20 April 1998

The Frisian flag, as we currently know it, probably flew for the first
time in the year 1895. The family De Zee from Jirnsum
(Irnsum) designed it. Around 1897 it was produced commercially by the company
De Leeuw & De Zee in Jirnsum. Mr. Sj. de Zee was inspired for his design
by a historical drawing of a coat of arms. He had found drawings of a Frisian
arms in a book by Hamconius (1620) and by one in a book by Schotanus (1718).
Hamconius took his image of the coat of arms from an elaborate description
given by the first official
historian of Friesland, Suffridius Petrus (1527-1597). Suffridius states
that a coat of arms was given to the legendary king Friso. It had a blue
background and three slanting silver bars. On these silver bars lie seven
red waterlily-leaves. The number seven is said to symbolize the "Seven
Frisian Sea-lands" that make up Friesland. Suffridius says that examples
of arms can be found in old heraldic books and on church windows.
Some of these armorials of the 15th century have survived to date.
In a French armorial of around 1475 we find an arms of "Le Roy Frise".
It has a blue background, slanting silver bars and nine red hearts.
There is evidence that the Frisian coat of arms originated from Denmark
or one of its surrounding countries. Around 1525 Jancko Douwama writes
that King Redbad (late 7th-/ early 8th century) borrowed parts of his fathers
Danish arms and blended them with the Frisian coat of arms. In the 11th
century poems of the Gudrun-song there are lines that indicate that in
the regions between the Scheldt and Jutland a blue flag could be found
with waterlily-leaves on it. Gudrun can be traced back to the 8th century.
In the royal arms of the Swedish king Waldemar Birgersson dating from 1252
hearts can be found. These hearts resemble the leaves of the waterlily,
and are often interchanged. (Just recently Mr. J. Nicolay, after doing
research on gold hoards, has concluded that the aristocracy of Friesland
in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th century came from Scandinavia.)
In 1957 the flag with the "pompebledden" (waterlily-leaves)
was officially declared to be the Flag of the province Fryslân.
Source: De Fryske Flagge, in It Beaken (Tydskrift fan de Fryske
Akademy), April 1956.
Jarig Bakker, 8 October 2000

Official description

"A flag of seven diagonal stripes of equal width, alternate cobalt blue
and white. The stripe in the middle starting at the top of the hoist side
and going from corner to corner; the white stripes charged with seven scarlet
red lily leaves perpendicular to the axis of the stripe and placed 2:3:2."
Pantone colours: red: 032U; blue: 300U; white: opaque.
Proportions: 9:13.
Mark Sensen, 19 April 1998

Explanation

The three white stripes could stand for the rural quarters Oostergo,
Westergo
and Sevenwolden/Zevenwouden, the blue stripes
for the Frisian rivers. The seven lily leaves represent the seven old Frisian
"zeelanden",
as they existed from around the 8th till the 14th century:

Frisia between Reker and Vlie (West-Friesland
[West Frisia], nowadays in North Holland);

Frisia between Vlie and Middelzee (Westergo,
western half of the modern province);

Frisia between Middelzee and Lauwers (Oostergo,
most of the eastern half of the modern province)

Sevenwolden (southeast of the modern province,
the north of the modern province Overijssel and the whole of the modern
province Drenthe);

Jos Poels in [poe90] Poels 1990 mentions
another division of Frisia: West Frisia; the modern province of Friesland;
Hunsingo and Fivelingo (both part of the Ommelanden); East Frisia; Jeverland;
and North Frisia.
Mark Sensen, 20 April 1998

Usage

According to [ped80] Pedersen 1980 the
Provincial States of Friesland adopted the national Frisian flag as provincial
flag, so that it's possible for Frisians in Germany to recognize the flag.
On the Frisian States' yacht "Friso", (which is property of the province)
the Frisian flag is used as jack if the national flag is used at the stern.
It is the most popular provincial flag in the Netherlands, and I'm
sure that there are more Dutchmen who know this flag than there are who
know their own provincial flag!
Also, other flags are popular in Friesland -- not only municipal flags,
but also those of cities and even villages within the municipality that
fly their own flags!
Mark Sensen, 20 April 1998 and 25 April 1998

1938 Parade flag

In 1938 Queen Wilhelmina had reigned the Netherlands for 40 years. On that
occasion a lot of municipalities paraded in front of HM with their flags,
which consisted of the provincial flag with the municipal Coat of Arms in the canton
(or something...). Those municipal flags can only be considered as 'curiosities',
while the status of the provincial flags is not quite clear. However friesland
used their own flag.
Jarig Bakker, 26 January 2001

Proposals

In 1913 Van der Laars in [Laa13] Van der Laars
1913 already proposed the flag with the lily leaves as the most obvious
design. As alternatives, he proposed a banner of the arms (blue, with two
golden lions passant, accompanied by 7 billets placed 2:2:3), a bicolour
yellow over blue, or a triband blue over yellow over blue.
Mark Sensen, 19 April 1998

Wimpels

From: 'De Vrije Fries', 1986
The 'Fryske Rie foar Heraldyk' has proposed for all new Frisian municipalities,
originating from former "grietenijen" (municipalities), a swallowtailed
wimpel with in the fly two stripes along the length in the colors of their
original 'gouwen' (counties): in Oostergo red-white; in Westergo blue-white
and Zevenwouden green-white. For the Frisian 11 cities it was proposed
to adopt in the fly the colors of the Frisian Coat of Arms: blue-yellow. Each wimpel
would have a square hoist, on which the central figure from the municipal
Coat of Arms. A similar pattern was proposed for the Wadden-islands: in the fly
the colors blue (for Friesland) and red (of the lion of Holland) - because
two of the four islands (Vlieland and Terschelling) were in the province
of Noordholland until the second World War. <Schiermonnikoog was a possession
of a German until 1945, when it was annexed as Domain of the State of the
Netherlands as 'enemy possession'.>
For the 'waterschappen' (polderboards): on the fly of white
three green 'pompebladeren' (lily-leaves)
The wimpel is not subject to flag-protocol and is allowed to hang outside
after dark. A wimpel has the advantage of recognizability and can be flown
alongside other wimpels and flags.
Jarig Bakker 18 October 2000

Friesland Coat of Arms

"Azure two lions passant in pale or, between seven billets of the
same, placed horizontally two, two and three. The shield is crested by
a coronet of four pearls between five leaves or. Supporters: two lions
rampant or."

Friesland is a province in the North of the Netherlands. Friesland originally
included a larger area, of which parts are now in Noord Holland, Groningen
and Germany. The Frisians formed an independent state. The German Emperor
Frederik Barbarossa made Friesland a condominium between the Counts of
Holland and the Bishops of Utrecht. The counts of Holland, however, failed
to establish their power in the area. They only obtained West-Friesland,
now part of the province of Noord Holland. At the same time the Counts
of Gelre claimed the eastern part of the area. They also failed to establish
their power for a longer period. To establish their claim they used arms
with two lions on a field with silver coins. The lion was the lion of Gelre.
It symbolized Gelre and Friesland. When the province finally became part
of the Netherlands the arms were continued. In the 16th century the coins
were replaced by 7 rectangles, representing the seven districts of (ancient)
Friesland. The arms haven't changed since then.
Ralf Hartemink 1997

from this page.
These silver coins appear on a banner shown on
this page, giving the
‘Chronicles of Brabant’ as a source – about 1/3 down the page, just above the
West Frisian flag.
This page in
Dutch indicates that above version was used by
overlords Philip the Good and Charles the Bold, Dukes of Burgundy,
intermittently between 1435 and 1473.
Also, the ‘Chronicles of Brabant’ and hence the first appearance of the bezants
– and in the form of a banner of arms, of a Frisian flag – are placed in the
second half of the 14th century.
Jan Mertens, May 16 2011

Friesland flag from Steenbergen

by Jaume Ollé, 4 Jul 2003

Jaume Ollé just sent images of Steenbergen's flagbook
(c. 1870) to the Vexillum-list. Among them the flag of Friesland (#765),
consisting of a blue field with two lions passant with on both sides three
yellow blocks.
This is not mentioned in Sierksma's Nederlands Vlaggenboek, 1962,
and neither in van der Laars' Wapens, Vlaggen en Zegels van Nederland
(1913), although the last contains an image of a proposed flag for
Fryslân with 7 yellow blocks (one below the bottom lion).
Searching a little more I found in Norris and Hobbs (1848) a
flag of Friesland (#142), nearly identical to Steenbergen's image, except
that the lions are regardant.
Jarig Bakker, 4 Jul 2003

Friesland flag from LeGras

by Jaume Ollé, 4 Jul 2003

According to Derkwillem Visser's Gemeentevlaggen en wapens Koninkrijk
der Nederlanden (2001) a French book of 1858 contained an image of
the Fryslân flag nearly identical to Steenbergen's image - the blocks
are wider apart and there is a block below the bottom lion. That book is
Legras
"Album des Pavillons, Guidons, flammes", Paris, 1858, who apparently
made a thorough search in the Netherlands - some authorities complained
about his inquisitiveness.
<I've slightly altered Jaume's gif.>

The matter becomes more complicated because the Noord-Holland region
of West-Friesland uses a blue flag with two
yellow lions, with three rows of blocks, one left, one right, and one between
the lions. Nine blocks in all. However the number of blocks seems to have
varied. At present there is a discussion about how many blocks should be
on the West-Frisian flag.
Jarig Bakker, 4 Jul 2003